Malengine
//malˈɛndʒɪn// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Evil intent, bad intention; fraud, deceit. archaic, uncountable
"But the chaſte damzell, that had neuer priefe / Of ſuch malengine and fine forgerye, / Did eaſely beleeue her ſtrong extremitye."
Example
More examples"But the chaſte damzell, that had neuer priefe / Of ſuch malengine and fine forgerye, / Did eaſely beleeue her ſtrong extremitye."
Etymology
From Middle English male engyn, male engyne, from Anglo-Norman mal engin, Middle French mal engin, from mal (“bad, evil”) + engin (“ruse; trickery; deception”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.